I'm sure if you do the same research on other cars you will find the same types of issues. ... All car MFGing will have issues, no way around it ... Pick the car you like, buy from a dealership you like and trust and above all ENJOY the car!.

Good advice. In 1986 my sister bought a new, first year of a new generation, Toyota Celica GT and loved it. After much shopping and a test drive in hers I decided to buy one like it, but *I*, having been burned by "early production issues" several times already, was smart enough to wait out the first model year. Over the years I had alternated between buying low-mileage used cars and new cars (many tradeoffs). To decide which to do this time I made two lists of the cars I had owned, new and used, and the problems I had experienced with each. No help -- they had ALL had problems. (Not one has been a Ford.) Truth: Cars have problems.

I looked at a few used '87s and decided it was time for a new one, negotiated a good price (3 dealers, "lets you and him fight") and went to pick it up when they called me. Wow -- I got the first new '88 that dealer had received. Even better. Wrote the check, drove it home, loved the most solid feeling car I had ever owned.

What's this? The transmission often shifts like a truck, synchros not keeping up. But my sister's had felt sooo good when I drove IT. Turns out Toyota had changed the design of the manual transmission mid-generation to improve reliabiltiy, and *I* had not test driven one with the new trans, not even mine when it came off the truck. (Dummy!) More reliable is great, but terrible feeling shifts was not. Best deal I had ever negotiated on the most disappointing new car I had ever bought. Several new lessons learned. (Know what you are buying -- manufactures change things. Pay attention to the car, not just the deal. Always test drive before paying, even if you watched them drive it right off the truck and the odometer shows almost zero miles.)

The dealer (Penske Toyota in Milpitas) bent over BACKWARDS to make it right, but it was a design issue, not a defect, so they were unable to. There were several annoyances in the way they dealt with me while working on the problem but they made an honest effort. I sold the car after two years, the shortest time I had ever kept a new car (usually 5 to 10 years). My sister kept hers much longer. The low-mileage 1-owner 1990 (first year of a new generation) Acura Integra GS hatch I replaced it with is still in my garage. Yes, it has had its own problems, some I still have to deal with to sell it to make room for a new Focus.

Maybe. Now I discover that the SE Sport package I had decided on while SO patiently waiting out the first year is not available for 2013. (Oh, Ford, why do you have to make it SO difficult? I have been wanting to buy a Ford for 50 years and you always kill the deal somehow.)

I am especially grateful to all of the 2012 Focus owners who have done so much to help Ford get the problems fixed, especially the Focus Fanatics who have shared their experiences here. Been there, done that, hope I learned my lesson.

Ya' know, that new 2013 Escape looks kinda' nice. I wonder if I can be patient for the 2014's to get here ...

My 2012 Ford Focus is the biggest piece of junk I have ever bought. I had a 2005 that I LOVED, was only in the shop TWICE the whole time I had it and sold it with 166k miles on it. This 2012 has been in the shop 14 times in 12 months, for days at a time. NEVER again will I purchase another one...

My 2012 Ford Focus is the biggest piece of junk I have ever bought. I had a 2005 that I LOVED, was only in the shop TWICE the whole time I had it and sold it with 166k miles on it. This 2012 has been in the shop 14 times in 12 months, for days at a time. NEVER again will I purchase another one...

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